


have a cup of cheer

by hullomoon



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Autumn, Beverages, Christmas, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hockey, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Season/Series 02, Season/Series 04, Vignette, Winter, caroling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:34:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27769135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hullomoon/pseuds/hullomoon
Summary: A look at Ray and Ronnie's friendship through four beverages
Relationships: Ray Butani & Ronnie Lee
Comments: 33
Kudos: 31
Collections: Schitt's Creek: Frozen Over (2020)





	have a cup of cheer

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [SCFrozenOver2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SCFrozenOver2020) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Ray. Ronnie. Beverages. possibilities include:
> 
> -one of them is the designated provider of hot beverages for both of them at cold town functions  
> -Ray's efforts to perfect his mulled wine recipe  
> -a series of interactions through the winter, each involving a different hot beverage  
> -Ray bringing Ronnie tea when he hears she's got a cold, while she insists she's fine
> 
> I really loved this prompt and tried to incorporate as many of the suggestions as possible, so thank you prompter! Other thanks go to my beta for giving this a quick once over. Final thanks go to the mods for having this event, I had such a fun time.
> 
> title of the song comes from holly jolly christmas

Ronnie carefully cracked an egg, and pried the shell apart. With each shell half, she transferred the egg yolk between them until all of the egg white was in the bowl. Finished, she put the egg yolk in a separate bowl with three others and threw the shells into the trash can. She washed her hands and then placed the bowl under the stand mixer and turned it on.

She watched as the dark golden yellow of the yolks turned a pale yellow and slowly added in sugar. Fully combined she slowed the mixer down and shut it off. 

Ronnie grabbed whole milk and heavy cream from the fridge, measured them out, and poured them into a saucepan. Nutmeg precisely measured and added in, the mixture slowly heated up under Ronnie’s watchful eye, occasionally stirring with her spatula to prevent it from burning. 

Right before it began to boil she killed the heat and lifted the saucepan up and away. She grabbed a whisk with her other hand and started stirring the egg and sugar mixture while slowly pouring in the hot mixture, careful not to cook the egg. 

Once it seemed tempered she poured everything back into the saucepan and let it heat up until the mixture reached about seventy degrees Celsius. She got out another bowl and poured the liquid into it, placed plastic wrap over it, and sat it in the fridge.

She turned to the mess that was left and went about placing dishes in the dishwasher and washed the ones that couldn’t go in there. It was when her hands were deep in the soapy water that the doorbell rang. She shook the excess bubbles, grabbed a hand towel, and headed for the door. 

She opened the door, revealing Ray, a tin clutched in one hand. 

“Afternoon, Ronnie,” he said as he stepped in through the doorway.

“Afternoon, Ray,” she replied as she shut the door. A gust of wind swept some snow into the entryway and she made a mental note to mop it up later so it didn’t track throughout the house.

She turned around to see Ray had taken off his coat, which revealed a garish sweater underneath. It had alternating green and red vertical stripes, with sparkly white snowflakes of various sizes throughout.

“Where did you find that?” Ronnie asked.

Ray looked down at his sweater and then back up at Ronnie. “I found it in the bargain bin at the general store. I couldn’t believe no one had bought it yet!”

She turned to head to the kitchen using it to hide her wince. The fact that the sweater had been in the bargain bin should have been an indication that the sweater wasn’t fit for wearing. But there were two things Ray couldn’t resist: A good deal and unlikely design.

She grabbed the bowl of egg whites from earlier and put them under the mixer. She heard the sound of footsteps on the tile floor. “I’m just finishing up the eggnog if you want to head into the living room.” She didn’t wait for an answer before she turned on the mixer, readying herself to slowly add in the sugar.

“Are you sure you don’t need any help, Ronnie?”

“If you want you can grab some mugs and then the rest of the mixture is in the fridge if you could grab that too please.”

She watched the egg whites and stopped the mixer. She pulled out the whisk attachment and held it up. The egg whites had turned a foamy white and had a slight peak to them. 

Ray sat the bowl down next to her. She took a spatula and dumped the egg whites into the bowl and slowly incorporated the egg whites into the mixture.

Ronnie poured the eggnog into the two mugs. She grabbed one of them and Ray took the other. They headed to the living room, each sitting in an armchair.

“Cookie?” Ray offered.

Ronnie looked into the tin to see thumbprint cookies, their red jam a deep color. She reached her hand out. “Sure.”

The jam was raspberry, a little on the tart side. Ronnie took a sip of her eggnog. 

She and Ray hadn’t spent a Christmas together in a few years. It first started when they were both new in town and didn’t have money to go back and visit relatives. Ronnie had enjoyed it so whenever they can’t get away to see family or spend it with their significant others, they spend it together. This year’s last-minute blizzard covered the town in a thick layer of snow and made it impossible to get out of town.

They start off having a quiet conversation, each inquired about the other’s business and how they are. As the afternoon turned into evening and with more eggnog consumed, Ronnie felt herself become looser and happy. Conversation turned to reminiscence and eventually into drunken carol singing. 

Ronnie invited Ray to stay the night, between the late hour and horrible weather she worried about him getting home safely. He graciously accepted and as she wished him good night she heard him hum “Let it Snow.”

In the morning, she was greeted by Ray with a plate of slightly lumpy pancakes and a cup of strong coffee.

They sat in silence, the occasional scrap of a fork or hushed voice the only thing breaking it.

Later, as she waved goodbye to Ray, she watched as his feet broke through the fresh snow, and made a note that if possible, she should invite him over for New Year’s.

\---

Ray gave the mulled wine a quick taste. The spicy-citrus aroma filled his nose as he dipped the ladle into the pot and poured the wine into a mug. He put the mug to his lips and drank, the rich taste coating his tongue. He’d been perfecting his wine all year and he was excited for the Jazzagals to try it. 

Every year the Jazzagals caroled around town and whoever was their last visit was expected to provide a small treat as a type of thanks. Everyone took turns and were told in advance so as not to surprise them. He saw the group walking to the house across the street earlier and knew they would be headed to his house soon. The ding-dong of the doorbell interrupted his thoughts.

He sat down his mug, quickly ran a hand down his sweater, walked to the door, and threw it open.

“Happy Holidays!” The Jazzagals shouted. Jocelyn blew into the pitch pipe and the women began a rousing rendition of “Sleigh Ride,” before transitioning into “Deck the Halls,” and finishing with “Winter Wonderland.”

Ray politely clapped and smiled. “Wonderful job everyone. Now, if you’d like to come inside there are some refreshments in the kitchen.” He moved to the side to let them through. The women smiled at him as they bustled through, taking off hats and gloves now that they were inside and away from the biting wind.

Ray squeezed past Gwen to get into the kitchen. Some were already eating the candy cane sugar cookies and gingerbread that were artfully arranged on a tray. Twyla poured some mulled wine into Jocelyn’s mug.

“You’re getting better,” a voice behind him said.

He turned around to see Ronnie, a mug in one hand and half-eaten cookie in the other.

Ray gave a small grin. “Oh, good. I’ve been working on it for the past year. You know I think I finally got the ratios right.”

Ronnie hmphed. “It still isn’t as good as my Aunt Gladys’s.”

“Ronnie, I don’t think it ever will. If I hadn’t met her before I’d say you just invented her to rile me up.”

Ronnie laughed and took another sip. “You’re just upset that she didn’t give you the recipe when you asked.”

“I thought if I explained to her how she could create a business around it she would tell me what the secret was.”

Ronnie finished her cookie and clapped a hand to Ray’s left shoulder. “She doesn’t give away her recipe to anyone. I wouldn’t be surprised if she took it to her grave.”

“And a loss it would be for everyone,” Ray intoned forlornly. “Ooh, maybe you should mention that to her next time you see her.”

“Mmm. We’ll see.”

Ray walked away from Ronnie to go check on the refreshments table. He smiled to see that half of the mulled wine was gone. Most of the cookies were gone as well and he’d need to remember to send some leftovers with Joceyln to give to Roland. He grabbed the mug he had abandoned on the counter and refilled it. He took a sip and looked around the room. His brow furrowed when he realized someone was missing. He walked back over to Ronnie.

“Where’s Moira?”

Moira had recently joined the Jazzagals, something Ray thought quite interesting. It had been a while since the Jazzagals had gotten a new member and it was always exciting to see what a new member could bring into the group.

Ronnie sighed. “She didn’t want to participate. Said that she didn’t want to ‘plague others with unwanted Yuletide verses.’” She shrugged. “The Roses have had a hell of a year and we didn’t want to fight with her.”

Ray nodded in agreement. It hadn’t been that long ago that the Roses had almost sold the town and David ran away. Really—and Ray would never say this out loud—the Roses didn’t seem to be trying as hard to get away from the town. He wondered what the next year would have in store for them.

“Do you think it would be possible for you to drop off some gingerbread and wine to the Roses on your way back?”

“Sure.”

Ray headed into the kitchen and grabbed some Tupperware and a thermos. He carefully stacked the cookies into the container and poured wine into the thermos, closing it tightly. He placed more cookies into another container, contentedly snapping the lid closed.

“Joceyln, here are the cookies for Roland.”

Jocelyn looked to Ray and gratefully took the container. “Thank you Ray, I’m sure Rollie is going to like the gingerbread.”

He smiled at her and then headed back to Ronnie. “Here’s this.”

They had an awkward moment as Ray took Ronnie’s empty mug so she could take the container and thermos. “Let them know they can drop off the dishware at any time, but I do need the thermos back before next Friday.”

“Will do, Ray.” Ronnie and Jocelyn headed toward the front door, the other Jazzagals following their lead.

A chorus of byes and thank yous echoed throughout as they all bundled back up and out into the cold. With a final wave, Ray shut the door.

He went back to the kitchen and tidied up. Humming to himself he placed the mugs in the dishwasher. Maybe next year he should add more cinnamon to the recipe. 

\---

Ronnie looked out into the crowd and took another sip of her cider. The Annual Schitt's Creek Fall Festival was well underway and right now she was manning the town council's booth. 

This year they decided on a bobbing for apples station which she hadn't been a fan of. Ronnie couldn't understand why people wanted to dunk their heads into cold water when the weather wasn't much warmer. She and Moira were outvoted, however, and now she was first on the rotation. 

"Well, hello Ronnie!"

She looked up from her drink to see Ray coming toward her, a pie in his hand. 

"Hi, Ray."

"I thought I would come over and bring you something to eat. I remember how hungry I would get every time I worked one of these booths."

Ronnie grabbed the plate and took a bite, letting out a mumble of thanks.

“I always love this time of year. Winter is too cold to properly enjoy anything, but look at everyone out here enjoying themselves.”

She looked up from the plate to the people milling about between the booths. Across from her booth was the Rose Apothecary booth. David and Patrick were close together. Patrick had his mouth close to David’s ear and whatever he said to David had him break out in a smile. Alexis and Twyla stood next to the café’s booth, a bag clutched in Alexis’s hand.

She hurried up to finish the pie, the warm spice danced on her tongue. She grabbed a cider and handed it to Ray. “As a thank you.”

Ray took it with a smile and nodded his head.

Ronnie turned her attention to a small gaggle of children that had stopped at her booth. They dunked their heads in the water with abandon and lifted them back up with a shriek as the cold water hit them, no apples captured between their mouths. She sighed and handed towels over and while they dried off she grabbed the caramel apples as their prize. 

In their excitement, the kids dropped their towels to the dusty ground and took the apples. Ronnie watched them walk away and grimaced slightly as she grabbed the now mud-covered towels.

“You know usually the kids have to win the game to get the prize.” 

Ronnie turned to Ray, who avoided her gaze as he innocently drank his cider.

“If they kept trying they would have made a bigger mess.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Besides they had fun and really that’s all they care about.” 

Ray hummed in agreement, but Ronnie had a feeling he was holding his tongue. “When does your shift finish?”

She glanced at her watch. “About half an hour.”

“If I have time I’ll come back around to see you. If not then I hope you enjoy the rest of the festival."

Ronnie finished her shift with only one kid who successfully caught an apple, allof them appeared to have a fun time, which even included the kid who, in their excitement, launched themselves into the barrel and was soaked head to toe. 

She looked around for Ray, and when she didn't see him she packed up her things and went around to the other booths. She stopped and chatted with Twyla and then David. Near the end of Main Street she found Ray, who apparently also had a booth. From the array of brochures on the table it looked like it was for all of his businesses. He was engaged in a conversation with someone so she gave a quick wave. 

Ray returned it with a smile and a wave of his own. 

\---

Ray carefully set the thermos on the table. It was heavier than he expected and his breath came out in small, rapid, puffs. Once it was securely on the table he turned his head to look at the scene in front of him.

It was the first shinny of the year and the whole town was participating. Ronnie and Patrick’s baseball rivalry continued into hockey, although this was more low-key. They didn’t have an organized hockey team in Schitt’s Creek on the account of not having an indoor rink, and thus subject to Mother Nature’s whims. Ronnie had been checking the pond expectantly all week to see if it was properly frozen. Once she gave the all-clear the news quickly spread and a mad dash to the pond began.

Ray’s job was refreshments. In this case, hot chocolate. It had taken time and much consulting from everyone on what would be the best beverages for hockey and in the end, hot chocolate won out. Of course, Ray had a small thermos of coffee for those who would want a mocha instead, or simply coffee. He sat it next to the bigger thermos. A cold hand on his back had him turn around.

“Do you need any help?” Ronnie asked, her voice muffled by her scarf.

“If you can. Aren’t you supposed to be playing?” Ray asked as he took out a bag of marshmallows from his tote.

She grabbed the cups from the tote. “We’re taking a break.” She tilted her head back. “One of the kids wiped out so Jocelyn’s giving them a quick look over, make sure they don’t have a concussion.”

A small crowd had gathered around the table since they started talking. The group was all red-cheeked from the cold and staring at Ray and Ronnie expectantly. They worked quickly, knowing the other’s steps by now after doing it for so many years. By the time Jocelyn came to the table with the kid who had wiped out in tow, the chill had left from Ray. Instead, he felt sweat at the band of his hat. He looked down at the kid with their red-rimmed eyes and snot dried on their nose.

“I heard you had a hard fall, would you like some hot chocolate?”

The kid eagerly nodded his head, and Ray smiled as he poured hot chocolate into a cup, making sure to give them extra marshmallows. 

Jocelyn mouthed a word of thanks to Ray as she grabbed her own cup and ushered the kid to the rest of their friends.

Ray looked to Ronnie who was now drinking her own hot chocolate. “So I know this is for fun, but what are the chances that your team will win.”

Ronnie turned to Ray and smiled. “I think pretty good. Stevie has gotten better and if that won’t work hopefully Jake can make Patrick flustered enough to lose his concentration.”

Ray gave a small nod. “Patrick does have Darlene though and she got a hat trick once.”

Ronnie frowned. “That was two years ago, I’m not too worried.”

A sharp whistle pierced the air and Ray watched as the players started to make their way back to the pond. 

Ronnie sat her cup down. “Guess breaks over.”

“Good luck!”

“Thanks, Ray,” Ronnie replied. She wrapped her scarf tightly and headed back to the pond.

Ray watched the game for a few minutes and then began tidying up his station. A pleased smile on his face when noticed that the thermos was half empty.

**Author's Note:**

> if you wanted to chat i'm [hullomoon](HTTP://hullomoon.tumblr.com/) on tumblr!


End file.
